5 Classic Johnny Marr riffs

As one of the most influential guitar players in music history, Johnny Marr is a music icon. From The Smiths to Electronic, The Cribs to Modest Mouse, The The through to his recent solo albums – basically every time he picks up a guitar, something good happens. So we thought we’d celebrate that fact.

We’ve taken on the impossible task of picking out just a few of his classic riffs. Don’t get mad if your favourite isn’t on there…

5 classic Johnny Marr riffs

The Smiths – ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’: A Smiths classic and the lead single from their hugely influential third album, 1986’s The Queen is Dead.

Modest Mouse – ‘Dashboard’: One of the highlights from his three-year spell with Washington band Modest Mouse, written on the very first day they started collaborating.

The Cribs – ‘We Share The Same Skies’: Wakefield’s finest + Johnny Marr = gold, as he became the honorary 4th Jarman in the band of brothers. This is just one of the top tunes from the one album they made together, Ignore the Ignorant.

Johnny Marr – ‘The Messenger’: Rather unbelievably, it took until 2013 for Marr to strike out on his own and release a solo album. When he did, with The Messenger, it was well worth the wait. 2014’s Playland is possibly even better.